Mistakes
by riyer
Summary: Ned is alive and takes Robb & Cat to task for all their stupid decisions that they have taken in the war so far. ONESHOT


The silence in the solar was all encompassing, the air hummed with disbelief.

The very person that was supposed to have been beheaded by the bastard King Joffery, the person that had ignited this war was standing here in of Riverrun castle.

Along with him were three other people faces covered with cowls of the septons garb.

Then a chair scrapped and fell with a bang as Catelyn Stark launched herself at the man, her husband Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell.

"Fa… Father is it really you?" croaked Robb as he tried to clear his throat and speak again, but was halted in his attempts as his father held up his hand.

His voice as he spoke was as cold as the land of always winter, "Yes, Robb it is me, and there is much we need to discuss." He pushed his wife away from him "Catelyn I would like for you and Robb to meet us back here in an hour as Arya, Sansa, Clegane and I get washed and gran something to eat."

"Sansa and Arya are here with you, is this them? Oh my daughters-" she cried as she advanced on the two small figures in the septons garb. She clutched them to herself as she sobbed with relief and happiness. The girls cried and hugged her back all the same.

"Clegane? Father what is the Lannister dog doing with you?" asked Robb as Sandor had removed his cowl and his face was revealed to the people in the solar.

"Robb, as I have said before we will meet back here in an hour and then we will speak.

You will not inform anyone of our arrival until I say so, do you understand?"

Robb was quick to agree with the chilly tone and the stern face of his Lord Father.

The party quickly put on their cowls and left the solar to various rooms that were assigned to them, the servants were ordered to bring the various necessities to the supposed travelling septons.

Catelyn was worried as to why her husband had given her such a chilly welcome, it had been almost a year since they had seen each other and she had assumed that her husband was dead, everyone was told that he was beheaded at the steps of the Great Sept of Baelor, and yet here he was hearty and hale.

He should have been as happy as her to have been reunited with her and yet there was nothing in his manner and voice that suggested happiness.

She supposed it was just the journey that had tired her husband, the seven knew what perils and hardships her family had endured to get back here. It would not be long before she was told the whole story she thought as she made her way to the Lord's solar. She was hard pressed to keep her happiness and the return of her girls and her husband from shining though, and the only way no one had noticed was because she had sequestered herself in her ailing fathers room as she gave prayers to the mother, the maiden and the warrior for returning her family back to her.

Arya watched as everyone gathered in the solar, their mother protested against Sandor being present for a talk that was denied even to her own family, but father shut her down quick stating that he was needed for parts of the tale and he trusted the man with his life. Sandor just stayed quiet at her and Sansa's side. But she understood the mistrust as she too had hated him in the beginning, now she was just thankful for his presence in their lives.

"So before I begin our tale, I want you to tell me what has happened since you got the news that I was arrested Robb." stated her father.

"We called the banners father, as soon as we got the news that you had been arrested by the Lannisters on charges of treason. By that time Riverrun was already under siege by them, and so we marched here to free mother's homeland" Robb smiled as he said this as if he had done some great deed but her father just nodded at him to continue his tale and so Robb told them all about being declared King in the North, The Battles at Whispering Wood and Oxcross, about Theon's betrayal, the sack of Winterfell, the deaths of Bran and Rickon, the Karstark treason and leaving and finally about how he had broken his word and married some Westerland girl. The arrangement he had made for Arya with some Frey and that they still held the Kingslayer.

All through his recital we all kept quiet as father had asked us to do before we came here, most of this was already known by us as we had picked up quite a lot on the road, and while still in Kings Landing Sandor had provided them with court news and gossip.

Finally father spoke "Catelyn why are you here? Why are not back at Winterfell?"

"Ned" she exclaimed aghast at his question "I had to be with Robb to help him with the war, he is still young not that he has not done well for himself, but I am his mother! How can you ask me such a thing? My home was under siege and my people were suffering at the hands of the Lannisters"

"Were Bran and Rickon not your sons, did they not need you I would imagine that they needed you more than Robb considering Bran's accident and Rickon's age, yet you abandoned them… And if Riverrun is your home then what is Winterfell? Are the people of the North not your people? You left the North in the hands of a 9 year old boy that cannot walk, you the Lady of Winterfell left the North undefended and you both sit there wondering why my home was attacked" he finished the last in a roar.

"Father we did what we did to avenge you and my sisters. We thought the Lannisters had killed you"

"Yes - to avenge me. The whole of Westeros knows that I fought a war to avenge my sister, and you have been taught about that war, Tell me something, did I concentrate on winning the war or getting my sister back? At every turn we searched for the knowledge to know where she was, I fought with Robert when he outright killed Rhaegar without giving me the chance to ask him where Lyanna was, when we reached the only place that would know of her whereabouts I left everything and hurried to her side.

What did you do to gain your sisters back? You captured the Kingslayer 8 months ago, so why was there no exchange, why was Sansa left in King's Landing?

I know such a deal was offered by Cersei."

"Father, our bannermen would have never stood for such an exchange" he looked guilty as he glanced at Sansa "How could I justify the exchange of Jamie Lannister with just a girl, they would have rebelled"

"So that line you fed me about wanting to avenge me and gaining your sisters back was just that - a line.

Let me tell you what I see - You Catelyn forgot your duty to your house, and that is the House Stark. You do remember our marriage alliance, your Father in essence sold you to House Stark in return for his troops in the rebellion, I know that you know our contract specifically stated that any and all issues in the Riverlands would be assisted by House Stark only for the first 5 years of our marriage and vice versa.

Did your father send troops to Winterfell, now that it is sacked, did he send food after the 5 years had lapsed? Did he send any assistance since the 5 years elapsed?

No - he did not. So tell me did you think that now I was presumed dead you could forget all about that contract and do as you wish?"

Arya, Sansa and Robb were gawking at their parents, they had never heard their father speak to their mother in such a manner. And this talk about the contract was the first that they had ever heard of. But before their mother could reply father went on "And you Robb - you have betrayed your house, you forgot all about the North and have been camped here in Riverrun for so long that you forgot your allegiance is to the North.

You have alienated your bannermen by not marching North as soon as you heard about the Ironborn attacks, you have not made any progress North or South. By your own account your most trusted bannerman is Bolton. BOLTON!

Have you lost your mind boy, did you not learn your history, the history of your house or did you forget everything as soon as you reached your mother's land?

You called your banners to avenge me and yet you deny the same justice to the Karstarks? If you were in his place what would you do? If a cadet house to the Starks feels that way what do you think the others think of you?

You have sold your sister to a family that is known far and wide for its dishonesty and callousness towards women, you look to others to pay for the mistakes that you have made.

You should have sent a team to retrieve your sisters by infiltrating the Red Keep, you should have sealed the North off and defended you homeland rather than this madness that you and your mother have begun.

Even after all this you sit here in Riverrun, not giving a thought to your home, you dishonour your word - which you should have never given in the first place and then you marry some westerland girl. You call yourself a King, a crown that you say you do not want and yet you say nothing when it was placed upon your head.

What I see in front of me is a puppet - one whose strings are pulled by his mother and her southron family."

Robb was now glaring at the floor, and mother was glaring at father as he opened her mouth to reply a knock came on the door and Sandor moved to open it

"Your Grace, all the Lords of the North are assembled in the great hall as you bid" the page bowed and left after delivering the message.

"Good - I called for this meeting. Follow me the both of you. Clegane bring the girls in after 5 minutes will you" Sandor just bowed his head.

Ned saw the shock on the faces of his bannermen as he entered the room.

"My Lord! Is that really you?" boomed Greatjon Umber and the room fell silent waiting for an answer

"Yes Lord Umber it is really me"

"Thank the old gods for your safe return to us My Lord but how is this miracle possible we heard about your death" spoke the low tones of Roose Bolton.

Ned glanced around the room and saw all his bannermen with the exception of the Karstarks and the Reeds. He also saw that Clegane had now come in with his daughters.

"I was never beheaded - they took me prisoner but before the sentence could be carried out a riot broke out and I was lost in the melee. I was rescued by the Spider's people and taken to a safehouse, however I was in a coma for the better part of 6 months as I had been hit on the head in the confusion.

Arya was rescued by Sandor Clegane from the streets of King's Landing and kept safe till the Spider approached him and told him about me and then she was brought to the place where I was being treated.

Unfortunately Sansa could not be moved from the Red Keep till I was well enough to journey back to the North."

The Lords all exclaimed as to how the gods were merciful and had kept them safe from harm.

"That is all well and good my Lords and I am thankful for the blessings of the old gods, but I called this meeting to lay out our future plans.

First of all I thank you all for answering the call but now it is time for us to turn back home.

I had planned to support Stannis but his burning of prisoners and the people that oppose him only tell us that he may be the new Aerys, and so we will not support anyone."

The King in the North shouted someone and they all picked up the chant - let's see father walk of this one thought Robb.

Ned held up his hand and the shouts stopped "Yes The King in the North - tell me my Lords how do you all plan to get grain and trade when we are independent of the people that sell us those things? How do you plan to survive the winter? Even before Torrhen Stark knelt we had good dealing with many of the kingdoms and now we are the only one to declare independence apart from the Iron Islands and they do not count as they will rape and pillage everywhere till they are stopped as they always have been.

No there is no kingdom of the North - we will go back home and wait out this conflict.

"But my Lord, we have the Riverlands too, they are a source of food and their ports are open to all major trading cities. Why should we bow to Southrons when we can rule ourselves, they do not care for the North why should we northmen bow to them and that ugly iron chair" boomed Greatjon

"Tell me Lord Umber, what has the riverland done for you?"

"My lord?... I don't understand… it is the home of your lady wife"

"No… It _was_ the home of my lady wife, her home is the North she left this place when she married. Or is the home of your wife Ramsgate?"

"The riverlands bleed my Lords as they have always done, every major battle fought for Westeros has been fought here, in these lands and they always will. If we stay here to defend these lands we will also bleed more than what we already have.

No - the North will stay out of this war, soon the dragons will come to these lands again and to them we will have to bend the knee again if we do not wish to be burned in our homes. Daenerys Targaryen has three dragons and she plans to come to Westeros, so tell me My Lords how will we do against these dragons?

If she does not win and her dragons die then we can still be neutral in this conflict if she wins we have done nothing to hurt her cause and nor have we done anything to help her win - and given her fathers madness we cannot be blamed for waiting and watching.

Our homes have been pillaged and our people killed, the reason you set out for war is finished, I am alive and my daughters are with me.

We have no more reason to linger here, the war on the riverlands was not started by the northmen, it was started because Lady Catelyn took Tyrion Lannister prisoner without thinking of the consequences of her actions, We will leave this place, if any of you Lords wish to stay and help I will not stop you.

But Winter is Coming so I will be going back North to defeat the Ironborn and to prepare for winter. We need one last harvest before the winter sets in, we need to prepare our people and our stores, hunts must be arranged, meat salted, and shelters repaired.

This is our way, and I will not be the one to abandon the way of my ancestors.

"You speak true My Lord, we must go back to our homes, but how are we to do this? The Freys will not let us pass" said Lord Cerwyn glancing at Robb.

"The Freys are not the only way into the North I had hoped that some of you may have remembered this - but no matter, I have sent a raven to Lord Reed of the Neck a month ago and he will arrange for our passage. I do not trust any Frey and so I will not rely on their hospitality especially now that he feels slighted.

I have returned just today and would like some rest after the long journey, if any of you Lords needs must speak with me, you are free to visit me in the Raven Tower tomorrow. We all must prepare to leave in a sennight."

All I wanted with this story was to bash Robb & Cat…

If you like it leave a comment..Thanks for reading! xx


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